Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
A typical radio access wireless (RAN) network includes a number of base stations that radiate to define wireless coverage areas, such as cells and cell sectors, in which user equipment devices (UEs) such as cell phones, tablet computers, tracking devices, embedded wireless modules, and other wirelessly equipped communication devices, can operate. In turn, each base station may be coupled with network infrastructure that provides connectivity with one or more transport networks, such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and/or the Internet for instance. With this arrangement, a UE within coverage of the RAN may engage in air interface communication with a base station and may thereby communicate via the base station with various remote network entities or with other UEs served by the RAN.
In general, a RAN may operate in accordance with a particular radio access technology or “air interface protocol,” with communications from the base stations to UEs defining a downlink or forward link and communications from the UEs to the base stations defining an uplink or reverse link. Examples of existing air interface protocols include, without limitation, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or Wireless Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) (e.g., 1xRTT and 1xEV-DO), and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), among others. Each protocol may define its own procedures initiation of communications, handover between coverage areas, and functions related to air interface communication.
In order to receive certain services of a RAN, such as to place and receive calls via the RAN or to engage in data communication via the RAN, a UE may need to first register with the RAN. Procedures for RAN registration of a UE may vary from network to network, depending on the air interface protocol and other factors. But typically, RAN registration involves an exchange of signaling between the UE and the RAN, and the RAN responsively engaging in various processes to authorize and authenticate the UE, to establish a local service record for the UE, and to record where the UE is located (such as which base station or coverage area will be serving the UE).
Once a UE is registered with a RAN and operating within coverage of a particular base station, the UE may then operate in an idle mode or a connected (or active) mode. In the idle mode, the UE may periodically monitor air interface communications from the base station to receive system overhead information (e.g., operational parameters) and to check for any page messages destined to the UE. Upon receipt of a page message, or when the UE seeks to engage in a call or other communication, the UE may then engage in control signaling with the base station and may transition into a connected mode, with the base station assigning for the UE certain air interface resources that the UE can use to engage in bearer communication (e.g., communication of voice or other user/application data), and the UE may then engage in bearer communication accordingly. In turn, once the UE finishes the bearer communication, perhaps after a threshold period of absence of such communication, the UE may then revert to operating in the idle mode.